New Frontiers in Functional Medicine

I am thrilled and honored to podcast with Dr. Randy Jirtle. The field of epigenetics has exploded in the last decade, initiated almost exclusively by the groundbreaking research of Randy and his colleague Robert Waterland. Their 2003 study on the effects of nutrition on epigenetic gene regulation in agouti mice is the most cited paper in the history of science, and his trailblazing discoveries have expanded our understanding of human health and the etiology of disease. Listen to my fascinating conversation with Dr. Randy Jirtle.

A lot of scientific discoveries are borne out of serendipitous moments where a brilliant idea and unmet need collide. Such is the case with one of my all-time favorite “workhorse” botanical combination products, Biocidin. Listen to Dr. Rachel Fresco, founder and president of Bio-Botanical Research, talk about the story of Biocidin, the decades of interesting and on-going in-vivo and in-vitro research, and loads of clinical reports demonstrating efficacy. Also hear about Bio-Botanical’s suite of other no less creative products, including Oliverex, Proflora4R and GI Detox. In my practice, Biocidin is a work horse botanical combination I use ALL the time. It’s well-tolerated, and being a liquid formulation, I can dose low and slow or high and aggressively as I need to. Listen to my conversation with Dr. Rachel Fresco here!

Why would Precision Analytical, the laboratory famous for the ground-breaking DUTCH test (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) and Cortisol Awakening Response test, decide to offer a handful of key organic acids on their panel (incidentally, at no extra charge)? The answers will wow you in this terrific podcast with Dr. Carrie Jones, Medical Director at PA. Turns out, looking at compounds such as homovanillic acid, vanillmadilic acid, 5HIAA, pyroglutamate, 8OH2DG and xanthurenate have LOADS to do with our sex hormones and our HPA axis at many different levels. As usual, Dr. Jones provides fun analogies (how does a trampoline explain perimenopause?), clinically useful information on test interpretation and on intervention considerations. Don’t miss it.

Join me for an interesting, clinician-friendly conversation on the gut/thyroid axis with Dr. Mike Ruscio. Dr. Ruscio challenges both conventional understanding (where the gut/thyroid relationship isn’t recognized outside the research setting) and in the functional medicine world, where he argues we are often over-treating and over-testing thyroid function. What is the thyroid adrenal relationship? What should we expect with regard to thyroid antibodies and successful treatment? What should we be thinking about with regard to gut health when diagnosing and treating thyroid disease? Listen to this great New Frontiers episode where we dive deep into all this and more!

When Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac, was in his early twenties, he traveled the world surfing and learning to meditate. Along the way, he fell ill — and when he returned to the States he discovered that the conventional medical paradigm had little to offer when it came to treating complex, chronic illness. So he embarked on his own healing journey, studying acupuncture and Chinese medicine and learning about ancestral health. Today he is a globally recognized leader in the fields of functional and integrative medicine. In this podcast, he talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about being one of the first holistic practitioners to establish a solid online presence; why blogging and writing about functional, ancestral, and integrative approaches to health matter today more than ever; and how the current medical paradigm needs to be reinvented both to prevent and reverse chronic disease and to prevent the collapse of the entire healthcare system. His new book Unconventional Medicine is available now.

Small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO, is notoriously hard to treat. Patients often experience persistent bloating—and even when they find relief, symptoms can return months later, seemingly out of the blue. After struggling to help patients feel better using the tools of conventional gastroenterology, Dr. Ken Brown began to research compounds that could effectively treat SIBO-related bloating. The result of his work is Atrantil, the only all-natural formulation for treating SIBO-related bloating. In this podcast, Dr. Fitzgerald talks to Dr. Brown about dosing and treating patients with Atrantil, when to run further tests, and what other treatments can be used in conjunction with Atrantil to get the best results.

JJ Virgin was a well-known fitness and nutrition expert and author of several books when her son was hit by a car and severely injured. The doctors told her to prepare for the worst; they didn’t expect him to make it through the night. But, Grant lived. And JJ’s insistence on making sure he had access to both conventional and functional medical care is the reason why. She became an expert on the essential interventions for severe traumatic brain injury and insisted on their use during his recovery. In this podcast, the four-time New York Times bestselling author tells the story of her son’s accident and recovery, talks about her newest book, Miracle Mindset, and shares amazing clinical pearls on treating traumatic brain injury with functional interventions. In this podcast, you’ll hear JJ’s list of essential interventions for severe traumatic brain injury, including CBD oil with omega 3’s Essential oils, lavender combination (find details at www.grantvirgin.com) Autologous stem cell therapy (stem cell revolution) Progesterone/hormone balancing Prayer Diet Very high dose omega-3 fatty acids (up to 20 grams) Amino acids (higher dose branched-chain amino acids to prevent catabolism) Hyperbaric oxygen therapy The power of mindset Avoiding hospital food

Elemental Diets have a long therapeutic use history for myriad GI issues. EDs allow the gut to take a break from the hard work of digestion, offering the GI tract a chance for renewal and repair. They have been shown to help with a variety of conditions, including SIBO, IBS, non-specific intestinal inflammation, and autoimmunity, including IBD (among others). In this podcast, the director of clinical affairs for Integrative Therapeutics, Dr. Corey Schuler, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about using the Elemental Diet with patients, from how to use it while simultaneously treating other conditions (like fungal overgrowth or severe vitamin D deficiency) to creative ways to help patients stick to a challenging eating protocol.

Mark Newman is the founder Precision Analytical and the developer of the DUTCH test, one of the most accurate and patient-friendly measures of sex hormones on the market. The test eliminates the need for multiple types of testing by using dried urine to measure sex hormones, hormone metabolites, and free cortisol. Free cortisol is a key indicator of the health of the HPA axis — and having that measure, alongside a measure of sex hormones and their metabolites, gives providers more information so they can achieve better clinical outcomes. The test can be especially valuable in complex cases. Now, Mark has developed DUTCH Plus with Cortisol Awakening Response and he talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about the new test, testing best practices, and the most cost effective tests for patients.

Tumor cells have more insulin receptors than healthy cells, so they preferentially metabolize glucose. When you cut off the glucose supply to tumor cells, they struggle to make the fuel they need to proliferate. The ketogenic diet sharply limits the glucose that reaches tumor cells (while providing other anticancer benefits), and animal studies (and one small but seminal human study) have shown promise in using the ketogenic diet as an adjunctive treatment for cancer. Author of the new book, Keto for Cancer, Miriam Kalamian, EdM, MS, CNS, talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about the how ketogenic eating for cancer differs from other keto and low-carb protocols and outlines specific steps for pacing a keto protocol for the specific needs of cancer patients.

Dr. Terry Wahls was a practicing primary care physician when she was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. Despite treatment at some of the finest medical institutions in the United States, her health progressively declined until she could no longer walk. When she discovered functional medicine, she made a rapid turnaround. Soon she wasn’t just walking again, she was doing 20-mile bike rides. Today, Dr. Wahls conducts research using variations of her protocol, including intensive directed nutrition, progressive exercise programs, electrical stimulation, and the use of dietary supplements for patients with MS. She conducts her research at the Iowa VA, through the University of Iowa and is supported through grassroots fundraising. In this episode of New Frontiers in Functional Medicine, Dr. Wahls talks with Dr. Fitzgerald about her physical and spiritual transformation — and how other patients with chronic conditions can realize similar results.

I went to school with Dr. Hilary Andrews. She graduated before me, but I recall her then—she had a reputation for brilliance (and was voted class valedictorian, incidentally). Hilary applied that brilliance to childhood health and nutrition, which inevitably included investigation around vaccine safety. Flash forward to current time, Hilary continues to research and lecture extensively on the topic of immunization. She’s developed a number of CE courses available for clinicians. Make no mistake: Dr. Andrews recognizes the profound benefits of immunization-from the virtual elimination of polio, to the exciting work in cancer. However, Dr. Andrews also recognizes among other things, that one immunization schedule does not fit all. And that optimizing baby’s health, including supporting immune system maturation, ensuring nutrient sufficiency, and adequate detoxification capacity, is essential to ensure the safest, most effective response.

Small Intestinal Microbial Overgrowth: A Conversation with Dr. Vincent Pedre, MD IFMCP All microbes, not just bacteria, can contribute to problems in the small intestines. Today more than ever, we see patients with hard-to- treat gut problems. Dr. Pedre brings his own gut healing journey and Functional Medicine background to the table to talk to us about treating patients with SIBO-or as he likes to call it-SIMO, which encompasses microbes beyond bacteria and includes the oft-overlooked fungal piece of the puzzle. Dr. Pedre shares loads of treatment pearls from his gut-centric practice, but reminds us that any protocol must be individualized for the person sitting in front of us.

Dr. Carrie Jones and I went to medical school (National College of Natural Medicine) together. She was a brilliant, awesome friend then, and still is. What a privilege it’s been to watch her grow into the expert she is today. As you’ll see in her bio, Dr. Jones has been focused on women’s health and hormones her entire career which has spanned academia, clinical practice and now as the chief medical officer at Precision Analytical, home of the DUTCH dried urine hormone panel. Given Carrie’s background, she’s uniquely suited to train us on using the DUTCH panel, as she’s literally interpreted thousands of these tests over the years. Her podcast is chock full of Monday morning pearls of the best kind- actionable content I think you’ll appreciate and use immediately.

Dr. Corey Schuler is a man of many talents- an educator as well as a practitioner in integrative and functional medicine. In today’s podcast, Dr. Schuler will be wearing his nutritionist hat as we discuss individually designed elemental diets. Some of the applications we cover will be well-known to practitioners and patients alike. Others don’t have precedent in clinical practice but listen to this expert as he walks you through the critical thinking he calls on to come up with new and novel ways to use elemental diets to heal a number of conditions.